“I wish.” I pull a shirt from the closet and throw it on. “But once again, the universe has conspired against us.”
“Seems to be a common theme. Think the universe is trying to tell us something?”
He runs a hand through his hair, trying unsuccessfully to flatten it back into shape. Oops. Guess I got a little carried away. Sorry not sorry.
“Yeah, we work with a bunch of cockblockers.”
We look at each other and crack up. It feels good to laugh with him. Maybe even better than kissing him.
Okay, maybe better is an exaggeration. More like as good but in a different way.
Another knock, this time accompanied by Kip’s panicked voice, stops our laughter.
“Grady? I know you’re in there. I can hear you moving around. And is someone with you?”
“Uh, no. It’s just the TV,” I lie, making Ben roll his eyes. I grab a pair of boxers and turn my back to him so I can put them on. Like he hasn’t seen all I have to offer already. “I’ll be right out. Meet you out in front in five.”
“Okay, but if you’re not there I’m siccing Elodie on you,” Kip warns. “And she’s already on a rampage. She just tore one of the crew a new asshole for leaving a tire gun in the middle of the pit lane.”
Did I say I liked him? I take it back. He’s a menace. Even worse. A cockblocking menace.
His footsteps retreat down the hall. Ben smooths his shirt down and unlocks the door.
“You’d think a top-ten finish would put her in a good mood,” he muses.
“Meet me after the interview?” I ask, quickly changing the subject as I step into a pair of pants. You know that saying strike while the iron is hot? Well, Ben is hot, and I’m striking. “We can go to my place in Fontvieille. No one to cockblock us there.”
“Can’t. We’ve got that after party at the Amber Lounge, remember?”
I groan. “Fuck, I forgot about that.”
“Wish I could. Elodie will have our balls in a vise if we don’t make an appearance.”
“We can’t have that.” I glance suggestively at his crotch, fighting the urge to reach out and see if he’s still as hard as I am. “I’ve got plans for our balls later.”
I’m going for something between playful and hopeful, but my tone borders on desperate.
His fingers close around the doorknob, but he doesn’t pull it open. Instead, his head swivels back to me and our eyes lock, the raw desire that I’m sure is in mine reflected in his. “Let’s hope we can wait that long.”
CHAPTER12
Ben
Ugh.
I hate socializing at the best of times. And this is not the best of times. I’m surrounded by strangers—and the occasional familiar face—my dick is still half hard from my make-out session with Grady, and my drink is empty. And this is the longest fucking party in the history of the world.
Or maybe it just seems interminable because Grady’s across the room with not one but two scantily clad F1 fangirls hanging all over him.
There I go, getting jealous again when I’ve got absolutely no claim to him. All we’ve done is share a few kisses. Sloppy, passionate, mind-numbing kisses, but still. And he’s gay, for fuck’s sake. It’s not like he’s going to take one—or both—of them home tonight.
Nope. That’ll be me in his bed. Finishing what we started earlier.
I tried staying away from him. But he’s like the goddamn Borg. Resistance is futile. So I’m done trying. Or I will be, once this party is over.
If it’s ever over.
Besides, he has a point. There may be a thirteen-year age difference between us, but we’re both mature, responsible adults, capable of keeping our extracurricular activities separate from our work relationship. People who work together do it all the time, right? What’s the worst that could happen?
